Kashi-kun!
by jordan.lee.wellnitz
Summary: A story that I'm working on for the one and only Kakashi Hatake and my OC Yuuki Haburi. I'd really appreciate feedback, as I'm relatively new to writing fanfiction / Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

"Yuuki, what are you doing?" The tall man with shocking silver hair asks, staring down at the small purple-haired girl as lightning flashes across the darkened sky. Rain pours down on the pair as the man lifts the small girl up off the ground. As he carries her away, he spares a quick glance at the monument erected to honor fallen heroes.

"It's been ten years, Kakashi…I was just remembering him," the girl responds to the man as he carries her back to their home. She reaches up and uncovers Kakashi's left eye, gently touching the scar that runs down his face.  
"I miss him, too." Kakashi quietly tells the woman in his arms. "Without him, I would have died."  
"He saved us both, Kashi," Yuuki smiles sadly, remembering that fated mission that caused her to lose her best friend and to find her soul mate.

Ten years ago, during the Third Great Ninja War

"I really should be going now, ma'am," a young Yuuki sweetly informs the elderly lady she had been helping with her groceries.  
"Yes, yes. Thank you very much for your help, young lady," the kind elder thanks. Yuuki smiles at the sweet older lady, before glancing over at her best friend, Obito Uchiha, as he helps another, not so kind, elderly woman carry her groceries.  
"Uhmm, I should get going, too," Obito tells the elder as politely as possible.  
"Don't rush me, kid," the old lady yells at Obito, smacking him with the only bag she would carry.  
"Sorry, ma'am," Obito bows, rubbing the lump on the back of his head. He glances pleadingly at Yuuki, silently begging for her to help him, but he only receives a devilish smile.  
"Well, I'll see you at the meeting spot, Toto-kun," Yuuki yells to the young boy, whilst beginning to dash into the forest nearby.  
"Yuuki! Wait, ow!" Obito yells after her, receiving another blow to the head from the old lady.  
"Forget it! I'm not facing Kashi's wrath when we are BOTH late! Good luck, Toto!" Yuuki runs through the forest until she arrives at a small clearing where three people are already waiting. "Hello, Minato-sensei," Yuuki greets cheerfully at the older blonde man.  
"Yuuki," he smiles back at her in greeting.  
"Hello Rin," Yuuki smiles at the brunette girl, receiving a smile in return. "K-Kakashi," Yuuki stutters, with a shy smile, towards the young boy with gravity-defying silver hair and striking black eyes. She receives a polite nod from the stoic boy.  
"You barely made it in time, Yuuki," Kakashi informs the blushing girl monotonously, "do better next time."  
"Y-yes…" is her reply, as she stares sadly down at the forest floor. The moment of sadness is temporary, however, as a body crashes to the forest floor at her and Kakashi's feet.

Two black orbs stare up at the group after startling half of the members. "Uh, hey," the boy casually states, standing from his position on the ground.  
"Toto!" Yuuki squeaks, making sure that her friend is unharmed, save for the two small bumps on the back of his head.  
"You're late," Kakashi angrily states, looking down at his teammate  
"B-But not my much!" Yuuki defends, while smiling at her friend.  
"What time did you think we were supposed to meet? You moron! When you're a full-fledged shinobi, you're expected to follow the rules!" Kakashi stoically tells Obito.  
"Err..its just, I was accosted by this feeble old lady with a big sack and she kept asking me directions…" Obito reasons to the unconvinced Kakashi, "I mean..ow, dust in my eyes…" Obito begins rubbing his eyes as they tear up. "Even ask Yuuki, she was there!" He points at Yuuki, causing her to squeak at the realization that her teammates and sensei were all looking at her expectantly.  
"W-Well, Toto…I mean Obito…h-he did help an elderly woman carry her groceries home," Yuuki manages to say, trying to ignore the many eyes that were focused solely on her small frame.  
"Yeah whatever. We all know how hard it is for you to make Yuuki lie for you," Kakashi responds, glaring hard at the other boy. Yuuki looks down sadly as Kakashi glances over at her, his eyes steely.  
"That's enough, Kakashi," Minato states, glancing at your saddened expression. "So, Obito helped out an old lady. Are we done?"  
"Come on, Sensei, open your eyes!" Kakashi yells, infuriated, "How often does he do this? Is there an old hag around every corner?" Kakashi once again turns his wrathful gaze over to Obito, "Ninja who break rules and laws are branded as scum." He looks back at Minato, "Am I right?" he questions, almost challenging Minato to tell him he is wrong. Minato gives a nervous laugh, not knowing how to respond to the fiery boy.  
"What are you, made of steel!?" Obito exclaims. "I've heard enough of your rules this and laws that! The key is maintaining self-control." Obito states as calmly as possible, almost shocking Kakashi. Yuuki and Minato share a look of knowing that Obito is all talk at this point.  
"Okay, guys, break it up. We're all teammates here," Rin chimes in, while pushing the two hot-headed boys away from each other.  
"Rin, you go too easy on Obito. Remember, today is also a special day for me," Kakashi tells Rin.  
"What was it again?" Obito says indignantly.  
"As of today, Kakashi is a Jonin, like me and Yuuki," Minato informs Obito. "For this mission, Kakashi, Yuuki, and I will break off into three teams, which makes us more efficient. Every bit counts, as you know. Konoha is at the weakest it has ever been."  
"Split up?" Obito gulps.  
"That's right," Minato nods. "Obito and Rin, you'll form a three-man cell led by Kakashi," he nods towards the three of them to make sure they all understand. "Yuuki and I will be on our own," he tells the group, looking into his adopted-daughter's purple orbs, receiving a nod from her.

"Remember, we talked about this the other day," Rin whines to Obito. "This is where we each give Kakashi a gift."  
"Sorry. I must have tuned it out when I heard Kakashi's name." Obito huffs.  
"This is my present to you, Kakashi," Minato says, breaking the tension with his childish grin. "A custom-made kunai, it's a bit awkward but it's easy to handle once you're used to it." Minato throws the kunai to Kakashi, who easily catches it.  
"Thanks."  
"And this is from me," Rin begins, "It's a personalized med-kit. I adjusted things a bit to make it easier to use." She hands Kakashi the box and he takes it, giving a quiet thank-you to the brunette. He then turns his attention to Obito, holding his hand out.  
"What's that for?" Obito questions, staring at Kakashi's open hand.  
"You're supposed to give Kakashi his gift now," Yuuki whispers to her friend.  
"I've got nothing to give him. Not a thing," Obito tells the group angrily.  
"Obito!" Yuuki yells, losing her cool for a moment before turning to Kakashi. "O-of course he does," Yuuki nervously begins, wracking her brain for a way to salvage the moment, "H-he just, um, forgot. He forgot that we, um, we got it together." Yuuki lies, reaching into her pocket to give Kakashi the gift she had spent over a month making.  
"No, I didn't," Obito tells his friend, slightly confused. Realizing what she was trying to do, he sends her a hard look before turning back to Kakashi. "I didn't get him a damn thing."  
"Well, that's alright," Kakashi states, causing Yuuki to sigh with relief that Kakashi's feelings were not hurt. "You'd probably just give me some garbage anyway. Better nothing than a useless burden." Obito and Kakashi begin glaring at each other, creating a thick cloud of tension.  
"If we're done," Minato begins, using his parenting voice to tell the two boys to behave, "do you mind if I explain the mission now? We're already pretty close to the border." He leads the group over to a tree stump, where he lays out a map. "See this line here," he says, pointing at a line on the map, "it shows where the land of Earth is currently invading Kusagakure. Our enemy is the shinobi of Iwagakure. According to my info, they've already deployed a thousand shinobi to the battlefront." The four teens look at the map and take in this shocking information. "So, our mission is right here," Minato points to a point on the map and continues, "to crush one's enemy at the battlefront requires an immense force of shinobi. Therefore shinobi like us, whose focus is sabotage, must deploy in a short taut unit."

"So it's the bridge?" Yuuki and Kakashi realize at the same time. Yuuki glances over Kakashi with a blush, receiving a small smile from the normally stoic boy.  
"You're saying this is an infiltration mission." Kakashi finishes.  
"Right," Minato confirms. "Team Kakashi, your mission is to steal into the tail end of enemy territory, destroy the supply bridge, break up the support operation and promptly evacuate. Yuuki, scout out around enemy territory, find out their plans, and destroy enemy camps. However, save as much enemy as possible for healing purposes after the battle." The group nods, understanding their missions.  
"But, Sensei, what will you be doing?" Obito questions.  
"I'll be at the battlefront, hitting the enemy head on. That should distract them if nothing else. We'll stick together until the border. From there, we split up and set about our own missions."  
"Minato-Sensei, I never had a chance to give Kakashi his present," Yuuki informs her father-figure hopefully.  
"Oh! Of course, Yuuki. Go ahead," Minato smiles at his daughter lovingly.  
"Thank you, Minato-Sensei," Yuuki says pleasantly to Minato. She then reaches into her pocket and pulls out two golden bells. "H-here, Kakashi," Yuuki stutters, handing Kakashi the bells with her shaking hands.  
"Thanks, Yuuki," Kakashi says to the nervous girl, "may I ask what they do?"  
"Oh! When they ring, they emit a special sound that only the person who's chakra they were created by can hear. These ones were made with my chakra, so no matter where you are, I can hear them ring if you ever need me." Yuuki explains excitedly, completely forgetting about her nervousness.  
"That's ingenious!" Kakashi tells the excited girl, receiving a blush in return.  
"Let's head out," Minato tells his group, receiving four nods. With Kakashi in the lead, the group travels through the forest until Kakashi motion for everyone to halt. Kakashi charges the scout using a new, underdeveloped technique of his own creation called Chidori One Thousand Birds. The scout creates at least twenty shadow clones, forcing Minato to save Obito, who freezes as one clone attacks him, and to also save Kakashi, whose new technique does not allow him to counter against the enemy clone he was fighting. Kakashi sustains a small injury. Minato takes care of the enemy using his special technique.  
After defeating the scout, Rin begins healing Kakashi's wound, much to Yuuki's dismay. "Kakashi's wound isn't trivial," Minato begins, "We'll retreat for now and set up camp."  
"I'm fine," Kakashi argues.  
"What's so fine about it!? It's your fault for ignoring Sensei and acting so reckless." Obito yells at Kakashi, acting superior.  
"Don't talk to me that way. Not you, the spineless crybaby of the Uchiha," Kakashi growls at Obito, mocking him for freezing during the fight.  
"Wh..what!? I got dust in my eye!" Obito rebuttals.  
"Do you know the twenty-fifth rule of shinobi conduct?" Kakashi questions. "A shinobi must show no tears," he answers himself, glaring at Obito.  
"Hey, guys, knock it off," Rin attempts to reason but is ignored.  
"Guys!" Yuuki yells at the two feuding boys, shocking everyone around her. "We are a team! We need to work together or someone is going to get seriously hurt!" The boys stare at Yuuki shocked at her sudden outburst.  
"Thank you, Yuuki," Minato smiles at her, happy that she had spoken up. "Kakashi, rules and regulations are certainly important but they're not everything. Remember how I told you at times you must adapt and take steps appropriate to the situations at hand." Kakashi looks down discouraged, as Obito grins with self-satisfaction.  
"Don't look so satisfied, Obito," Yuuki states sternly. "You know that dust can't get into your eyes when you have goggles on." Obito looks at his friend amazed.  
"It's fine to speak of self-control, but you must be strong in heart not just in words," Minato finishes scolding Obito. "One more thing. Kakashi, about that new jutsu, it's a strike with a single focus. It certainly has speed and destructive power, but it makes you move too fast to ascertain the opponents counterattack. It's still imperfect. Before we part, let me say this once more. For shinobi, the one thing above all else is teamwork. Now, let's go get some sleep."


	2. Chapter 2

The team settles in a green, tall-grassed clearing in the forest. Minato settles himself on a large, flat boulder centered in the clearing, while Kakashi, Rin, and Obito settle themselves in sleeping bags near the foot of the rock. Feeling protective, Minato has Yuuki settle her sleeping bag on top of the boulder with him. The scene is quiet and peaceful until Obito climbs onto the rock with Minato, unable to sleep.  
"Sensei?" Obito questions quietly, checking to see if his sensei was awake and being careful not to wake any of his teammates.  
"Hm," Minato answer quietly, as he strokes Yuuki's hair lovingly, "What's up, Obito?"  
"I…I know teamwork is important," Obito begins hesitantly, "but when Kakashi keeps belittling me, always rubbing my nose in my lack of discipline…" Obito stops there, thinking carefully about his words, causing Minato to stop petting Yuuki and to direct his full attention at the troubled boy. "No…What I mean is, I might be born into the Uchiha clan, but I'm just a washout. I know that Kakashi is an awesome guy, I acknowledge that, but…" Obito grows quiet, not sure how he wants to proceed.  
"Well, Kakashi's father is Sakumo, the genius ninja feared as the White Fang of Konoha. In his time, the Three Great Shinobi of Konoha legend paled beside him. Growing up beside a man like that, it's hardly a surprise that Kakashi's standards for others are unnaturally high," Minato reasons with the youth.  
"The White Fang!" Obito exclaims, thinking back to the history lessons at the academy, "He's some hero who saved the village and died in the line of duty." Obito puts some thought into what he has just remembered, "Funny…I've never heard Kakashi say a word about him." He ponders this for a moment before Minato intervenes.  
"He was a great man, revered by everyone," he seems to enter a reverie about the hero he is speaking of before continuing, "including, of course, Kakashi…that is…until the incident."  
"Incident?"  
"Maybe it's not my place to tell you the story…" Minato thinks out loud, "but, since you're Kakashi's teammate, I want you to know."  
"W-what happened?" Obito gulps, afraid of what his uncharacteristically serious sensei will tell him.  
"Kakashi's father was vilified and, in the end, he took his own life." Minato says this with such a grave, serious face that it causes Obito the squeak a bit in fear. "If was five years ago on a top secret mission. He led a cell behind enemy lines. There, he was forced into a difficult decision. It was a toss-up between completing the missions and saving his cell members. Obviously, it's against the law of our village to abandon any mission, but he put his comrades above the task at hand. Unfortunately, a great deal of damage resulted. In the end, both the land of Fire and his peers blamed him for everything. As if that weren't bad enough, even the people whom he rescued turned against him and slandered him. The whole ordeal caused his body and soul to deteriorate and Sakumo took his life…Since that day, Kakashi has never spoken of his father and has devoted himself to the laws and regulations of the village." Obito looks uncomfortably down at Kakashi's sleeping form, feeling sorry for his teammate in a way he never thought possible. "Obito..please understand, even just a little, that Kakashi means well," Minato pleads with the boy, receiving a small nod but nothing more. Yuuki whimpers slightly in her sleep, causing both Obito and Minato to look at her concerned.  
"Sensei…what about Yuuki?" Obito begins to question, but he is silenced by a sharp look from Minato.  
"Go back to sleep now, Obito." Hearing the seriousness of his sensei's normally jocular tone, Obito obeys and returns to his sleeping bag at the base of the rock. The rest of the night passes uneventfully before the first rays of sunlight wake the sleeping shinobi. Immediately as the day begins, the team repacks their sleeping equipment and checks their gear for battle readiness. Rin tends to Kakashi wound, rewrapping his arms with bandages.  
"It's healing," Rin tells Kakashi with a smile. "But if you aren't careful, the wound will open."  
"Yeah," Kakashi responds, unenthusiastically.  
"Okay. Let's get going," Minato tells his young pupils. The four students nod and they group takes off through the forest until they reach the border. Once at the border, they enter the new terrain of a bamboo forest. "We'll divide here." Minato tells his group, as they stop at the border. "Do your best, all of you," he says casting a caring glance at each of his students. "The enemy we met yesterday was a lone scout, but from now on we must expect a team conflict. Be on your guard." Everyone nods at their sensei, understanding the seriousness of the situation they will be entering.  
"Let's go then, Leader," Obito tells Kakashi shyly. Everyone stares at Obito shocked except for Yuuki, who gives Obito a huge grin and a bear hug (because of which, Obito receives a steely glare from Kakashi).  
"Team Kakashi, move out!" Kakashi, Obito, and Rin all disappear in a blur after this command from Minato. "Yuuki…"Minato begins worriedly, "Please…be careful." He pulls Yuuki into a very warm hug, allowing one tear to slip down his cheek at the thought of something happening to his daughter.  
"Don't worry, Dad, I will." Yuuki returns the hug, before pulling away and smiling. The two share a smile for a moment before disappearing to perform their duties.

Team Kakashi runs through the forest non-stop for a few hours, before deciding to rest in a clearing. Kakashi begins checking the map to make sure the group was heading in the right direction to reach their destination. Obito begins putting his eye drops in, before he hears a noise in the brush behind him. He alerts his group and they stand, kunai ready, facing the rustling brush.  
"Boo!" yells a voice, dropping on Obito's back, knocking the boy to the dusty ground. Seeing who the "attacker" is, Rin begins laughing while Kakashi lightly chuckles.  
"What are you guys laughing? Someone's trying to kill me!" Obito yells terrified, before turning his head to see who has knocked him to the ground.  
"Did I scare you, Toto-kun?" Yuuki asks from her spot on Obito's back.  
"W-what? No, no you just…you just startled me a little," Obito stutters embarrassed.  
"That's the same thing," Kakashi taunts, as you giggle. Kakashi feels a warm sensation in his stomach after realizing that HE had just made you giggle.  
Obito looks at Kakashi's self-satisfied face, then at your giggling form. "Why are you here anyways, Yuuki? Aren't you supposed to be scouting by yourself?"  
"Oh! W-well…Minato-sensei changed my orders at the last second!" Yuuki lies. "Instead, he thought it would be better to have two Jonin's helping destroy the supply bridge." Yuuki gives a somewhat convincing smile at the group, hoping that nobody realizes that she is disobeying orders to stay close to Kakashi's side in case of an emergency. Everyone seems to believe Yuuki's lie because they begin again on their mission, journeying in a line through the stalks of bamboo that made up the forest. Kakashi leads the group, with Obito not far behind; Rin follows behind Obito and, with a worried eye on Kakashi, Yuuki brings up the rear.  
Kakashi stops suddenly, sniffing the air around them. Almost immediately after the group stops, stalks of bamboo begin to fall around them. One of the larger stalks begin falling towards the group faster than they would be able to dodge. Yuuki jumps to where Obito is standing and the two shinobi perform the hand signs for Fire Style: Fireball no Justu simultaneously. A large fireball shoots out of each of the two youth's mouths, incinerating the large stalk. Kakashi and Obito's attention is then directed ahead of them, as one enemy jumps out of the brush and attacks. Yuuki and Rin are distracted by an enemy leaping out from behind and snagging Rin, causing the girl to scream before falling into a state of unconsciousness. Yuuki lunges towards Rin's captor, but is stopped when he places a kunai to the unconscious girl's throat. Creating a clone, the enemy grabs hold of Yuuki and places a kunai to her throat as well.  
"Kakashi!" Yuuki screams, causing a trickle of blood to run down her neck. Both boys turn their full attention towards the two captured girls.  
"Shut up!" her captor yells, hitting her pressure point and knocking her out. The boys previous opponent appears next to his partner, taking the unconscious Yuuki from the clone. "They have found a new master." Saying this, the two enemies disappear with the girls.  
"Wait…" Kakashi begs pathetically, reaching out towards the spot where the girls were previously located. "Obito! Don't chase them!" Kakashi commands, as Obito takes off running in the direction that the enemies disappeared to.  
"What?" Obito asks incredulously, stopping in his tracks. "Do you have the slightest idea what you just said?"  
"Of course. From here on, the two of us will proceed with our mission," Kakashi responds numbly.

"What!? What about Rin and Yuuki!?" Obito screams, spit flying out his mouth because of his anger.  
"We'll rescue them later. The enemy wants to know our plans. They won't kill them right away," Kakashi says, trying to convince Obito and himself. "Good thing they both have medical knowledge…even if they are taken prisoner, they'll treat them well. That is, under the condition that they help heal their wounded. The critical point is not to let the enemy know our plans. If the information gets out, they'll up the security around our target. If that happens, the mission will become even more treacherous." Kakashi explains this to his infuriated teammate.  
"You say they'll be alright, but you're just guessing!" Obito argues impatiently. "What if the thugs that grabbed them are just brainless flunkies? Right now, our top priority is rescuing Rin and Yuuki." Obito says this almost like a command to Kakashi.  
"If we are shinobi, we must carry out our mission, even at the expense of our comrades. That's the law. If we fail, the war will drag on, which may cost us even more lives."  
"There you are guessing again! We risked out lives together! Are you willing to desert them for a mere hypothesis?" Obito questions Kakashi, enraged. "Every time we were wounded, they saved our lives with their medical ninjutsu. Without them, we would have died a long time ago!"  
"Of course." Kakashi states. "It was their job." Obito pulls his arm back and launches a punch at Kakashi, connecting his face directly.  
"I just decided, I don't like you." Obito says in a deadly calm voice.  
"Whether you like me or not, I am the leader," Kakashi states, as he stands, "You still have to obey my orders. Whatever the circumstances, one person alone makes the decisions and pulls the team together. Cell members must follow the command of their leader. Rules are there for a reason. Obito, you have no power. That's why I am the leader of this cell."  
"Then lead!" Obito demands, as he grabs the strap of Kakashi's blade. "Rin and Yuuki need our help! If you have the power to rescue them, why don't you?" Obito looks down sadly, "Didn't you notice how Yuuki only screamed for you? That's because she's in love with you, Kakashi…Yuuki, she's never given up on you, even though she thinks you hate her. And now…you're giving up on her."  
"If you give in to your fleeting emotions and fail an important mission, you'll regret it later. That's why shinobi have set rules about suppressing our feelings. You must know that as well," is Kakashi's emotionless, cold voice.  
"Rin stitched that talisman inside that medkit! And Yuuki…do you know how much time she put into those bells? She spent six months making those for you! She learned medical ninjutsu for you!" Obito continues, still trying to reason with his stoic teammate.  
"Medkits and medical ninjutsu, it's a great system. Konoha devised it to up the mission success rate. But, like I told you yesterday, better nothing than a useless burden. A shinobi needs tools suitable to the mission at hand. Emotion is just a useless burden."  
"Do you really mean that? Do you honestly think that way?"  
"Yes. I do."  
"Fine," Obito declares. "You and I won't ever agree. I've going to save Rin and Yuuki." Obito begins walking away from Kakashi.  
"You don't understand!" Kakashi warns. "Do you know what happens to people who break the rules?"  
"I do," Obito says, as he pauses in his steps. "And that's why the White Fang was a true hero." Kakashi's eyes widen as he stares at Obito's back. "Sure in a ninja's world those who violate the rules and fail to follow orders are lower than garbage. However, those who do not care for and support their fellow shinobi are even lower than that. If I'm scum, the rules are no good to me; and if breaking them makes me the wrong kind of shinobi, I'll crush all the so-called shinobi!" Obito and Kakashi walk in separate directions, one heading towards their mission and the other towards their friends.

The two enemy shinobi appear in a small rock formation that is doubling as their base. Not so gently, they set the two unconscious female shinobi on the dirt ground. "Tie them up." The subservient nods to his leader and ties the girls up, leaning them against the wall of the base. "Let's get started, then." The leader kneels down in front of Rin and begins a genjutsu, attempting to gain information from her mind.  
"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" an enraged, slightly groggy Yuuki screams at the two men. "Leave her the hell alone! Rin! Rin, can you hear me?" Seeing a small flutter of Rin's eyelids, Yuuki takes this as a sign of acknowledgement. "Rin, stay strong. Kakashi and Obito will be here to save us right after the mission is done! Don't give…" Yuuki's pep-talk is cut short when the leader of the two enemy shinobi slaps her harshly.  
"Shut up, you little bitch." Yuuki glares harshly at the men. "Make her talk." The leader goes back to performing his genjutsu on Rin, while his follower begins beating Yuuki, sending harsh kicks to her delicate ribs, breaking them like twigs. The leader stops his genjutsu, momentarily, motioning to his subservient to check out the foreign presence outside the base before returning to his work. With a nod, the other shinobi morphs into the wall, disappearing.

"I found them!" Obito thinks as he comes up upon the small cave-like hideout. His eyes tearing up, he tells himself he has to calm himself for the sake of the two girls. "Okay. Let's go!" Obito says, pulling a kunai out of its pouch.  
"Where are we going?" a voice asks from behind Obito. Startled, Obito turns quickly around to see…Kakashi attacking the enemy that had morphed out of the base of the tree directly behind Obito.  
"Ka-Kakashi? Why?" Obito manages to question his teammate.  
"I can't leave this up to a crybaby ninja like you, can I?" Kakashi snaps back, still standing ready to attack the enemy again.  
"The silver hair…the white blade…" the enemy stutters, as he stands, blood pouring from the deep gash on his chest, "could it be…the White Fang of Konoha?"  
"This is a memento from my father," Kakashi responds, holding his blade out respectfully.  
"Ah, I see." The enemy regains his composure, no longer afraid. "Just the White Fang's brat, eh? Then there's nothing to be nervous about." He disappears into the base of the tree again.  
Kakashi sniffs for a moment, "Just as I thought, even his smell is gone. We'll have to locate him by the slightest hint of sound." Kakashi stands tensely, listening for anything.  
"Where..?" Obito questions, looking around frantically.  
Hearing a miniscule sound, Kakashi's attention snaps to Obito. "Behind you!" Before Obito can react, Kakashi has already leaped in front of the blow, allowing his left eye to be gouged out. "My eye!"  
"Kakashi!" Obito lunges toward Kakashi frantically. "Kakashi, are you okay?!  
"Yeah. He…he's pretty good." Kakashi concedes, "He made sure to throw away the kunai stained with my blood." Obito's eyes begin tearing up, "Got some of that dust in your eyes again? A shinobi shouldn't cry. I'm not dead yet." Obito nods, rubbing his eyes. Kakashi is shocked when Obito turns quickly, kunai drawn, and stabs the air. "Obito…how?"  
"H-how…? You can't possibly see me…" the enemy stammers, "your eyes!" The enemy stares amazed deeply into Obito's sharingan.  
"This time, I'm protecting my comrade!" Obito twists the kunai in the enemy's chest, effectively killing him.  
"Your eyes, Obito!" Kakashi exclaims.  
"Yeah…Sharingan, I can see chakra!" Obito's excitement is short-lived, however, when Kakashi cries out in pain after trying to open his left eye. Obito worriedly rushes to Kakashi's side. "Kakashi?"  
"My eyes is gone, Obito…" Kakashi says melancholically, "But nevermind that. I can use this kit Rin gave me to fix myself up. We have to save her and Yuuki." Obito nods as Kakashi begins wrapping his eye carefully.

"You're certainly stubborn, aren't you?" The leader of the enemy shinobi muses, lifting Rin's unconscious head and glancing over at Yuuki's bruised, bleeding, and barely conscious form. He turns towards the entrance of the cave, hearing Obito and Kakashi's feet hit the ground. "So pathetic."  
"K-kashi…T-toto.." Yuuki wheezes out painfully, smiling serenely before allowing herself to drift off.  
"Rin's chakra is disturbed. It's flowing in patterns different from ours." Obito states, having used his sharingan to view Rin's current situation. "And Yuuki…" Obito looks at his beaten friend, frowning.  
"Rin's under the influence of genjutsu. It looks like they tried to force them to talk." Kakashi says sternly, allowing a growl to slip past his throat when he sees Yuuki's condition. "We fought earlier. He's quick. We'd better be careful." Kakashi warns Obito, receiving a nod from his partner. A fight quickly breaks out, with Kakashi and Obito obtaining the advantage. They wound the enemy and quickly rush to Rin and Yuuki's sides. Kakashi performs the necessary hand signs and releases the genjutsu on Rin.  
"Kakashi..Obito.." Rin drowsily says as Obito unties her quickly.  
"We've come to rescue you, Rin! You're safe!" Obito exclaims, smiling at Rin.  
"Please, Rin, heal Yuuki so that we can get out of here." Kakashi pleads calmly, glancing at Yuuki's body. Rin nods and begins healing Yuuki. She manages to heal her broken ribs and the most severe of her injuries, but is interrupted by the enemy shinobi.

"That was a pretty good combo," the enemy states, standing from his position on the ground. "But you're still just kids in the end. Remember, you're standing in the palm of your enemy now." He performs a series of hand signs, causing a group of large boulders to fall right towards our young shinobi.  
"This is bad," Obito states obviously, looking up at the large mass of rocks falling towards them.  
"Guys, make for the exit!" Kakashi yells, scooping the still-injured Yuuki up in his arms. The four youngsters run for their lives towards a safe area. They almost make it there, but Kakashi is struck by a rock on his left shoulder. Collapsing to the ground, he throws Yuuki's body out of harm's way.  
"Kakashi!" Rin screams from a safe place across the field from Yuuki's body, wanting to run to his aid. Obito darts quickly to Kakashi's side. Quickly, he picks up Kakashi's body and chucks him towards Rin. The rubble surrounds the small team of four, separating Yuuki from the others.  
"Too bad. I lost a good source of information," the enemy callously laments. "Oh well, no helping that."  
"Rin…Kakashi…you okay?" Obito manages to wheeze out from his spot underneath a large boulder. Both screaming Obito's name, Rin and Kakashi rush to his side. Kakashi begins trying to pry the boulder off of his friend's body. "Don't, Kakashi, it's okay. I…don't think I can make it.." Obito coughs up a little blood before continuing, "my right side is pretty much gone. I don't…I don't even feel anything."  
"No…" Rin begins, falling to her knees with tears in her eyes, "not like this…why..?" Obito coughs up some more blood, making Rin shriek his name.  
"This can't be!" Kakashi yells angrily, slamming his fist into the rough earth. "If only I'd come…if only I'd come with you from the start. This never would've happened! So what I'm cell leader! So what I made Jonin!" Kakashi continues pounding the ground, beating himself up for his friend's current state.  
"Kakashi…" Obito begins, smiling up at his friend. "I'd completely forgotten…I was the only one who didn't give you a gift. I didn't know…what was proper but…I do now…" Kakashi looks down at Obito, confused. "You see…it won't be useless. I'm giving you…my Sharingan." Kakashi and Rin gasp at their friend's confession. "Whatever the village may say…you are a great Jonin. I want you to know that. Please accept…" Obito looks at Rin's teary-eyed form, "Rin…use your medical ninjutsu and have my Sharingan…the whole left eye…transplanted to Kakashi."  
"Kakashi…" Rin begins before looking up, tears wiped away, and finishing determinedly, "come here. I'll do it now." Kakashi moves slowly over to Rin, laying down next to his friend's body.  
"I'm about to die…but I'll become your eye…and we'll see what happens in the future." Rin performs the eye transplant quickly.

"Kakashi? Rin? Obito?" Yuuki painfully gets to her feet, stumbling a bit and finding herself needing to lean against a large tree nearby. "Where…?" She looks around frantically, searching for any sign of her three friends and teammates. Coughing out blood, Yuuki falls to her knees. "I have to…find them…" She focuses her mind and chakra, searching for her friend's chakra signatures. Finally, she finds her teammate's chakra signatures. "Something's wrong…Obito's signature seems so…weak…" Realizing quickly what that means, Yuuki begins the slow healing process to allow herself to be capable of aiding her friends.

A huge explosion sounds from a mass of rubble, jarring the enemy shinobi out of his book. Looking up startled, he sees Kakashi through the new hole in the rubble. "You still around? Just die already." He says, annoyed. He notices tears streaming from the young, silver-haired boy's left eye. "Ha. You are just a kid. Shinobi don't cry, you know." Laughing at Kakashi's expense for a few more seconds, he suddenly gets serious. "Bring it on, crybaby!"  
"Kakashi…" Obito croaks, making Kakashi look down at him. "Look after Rin for me…and Yuuki…"  
"Don't worry," Kakashi assures his dying friend. He takes his blade out and lunges towards the enemy aggressively. The force of his attack breaks his precious blade. Grunting, Kakashi performs the necessary hand signs for chidori. The two opposing forces stand across from each other, one wielding the chirping, blue electricy, the other wielding two blades. Simultaneously, they lunge at each other.


	3. Chapter 3

Rin sees the enemy's bushy head appear in the hold Kakashi had previously made in the rubble. "Don't panic," Obito tells his frightened love. Kakashi's head replaces the enemy's head not long after. Rin releases the breath she had been unknowingly holding in. "Kakashi, take Rin, find Yuuki, and go. Reinforcements…coming…"  
"Obito…" Rin clutches Obito's hand tighter than she had already been.  
"It's okay! Just go…" Obito tells the girl, pulling his hand from hers reluctantly.  
"Rin…" Kakashi pleads with the girl, reaching his hand inside the small man-made cave. She looks back and forth between the boy she loved and the boy who loved her. A plethora of enemy reinforcements appear behind Kakashi, all simultaneously performing an earthquake jutsu. As the small cave collapses around Rin and Obito, Kakashi snatches Rin's hand and pulls the small girl from the makeshift cave. The rubble collapses completely on Obito's body as Kakashi brings the sobbing Rin high into a tree.

Feeling the tremors of the earthquake jutsu, and feeling the multitude of foreign chakras, and lack of one very familiar presence, Yuuki decides she is healed well enough. "Obito…no…" Yuuki allows herself a moment to mourn, before standing quickly, deciding that she can mourn later. "Right now, I need to save Rin and Kakashi!" Yuuki motivates herself. Painfully, she takes off into the trees to skirt the huge wasteland of rubble for her two remaining teammates.

Kakashi performs the hand-signs for chidori, realizing that, thanks to Obito's gift, his jutsu was now perfected. His willingness to fight surprises the multitude of enemies surrounding the tired pair. Along with his chidori, Kakashi pulls out the kunai given to him by Minato. "Rin, I'll detain them." When she doesn't respond, he gets more forceful, "go now!"  
"But…" she attempts to argue.  
"I promised Obito I would protect you with my life!"  
"Kakashi!"  
"Rin…Obito…he loved you…you were his only one…he gave his life to protect you…" The enemies begin leaping from the trees. "Rin, go!" Kakashi lunges towards the enemies, dropping two small, golden bells from his vest.

Ting-ting. This small sound causes Yuuki to stop in her tracks. "Kashi!" she exclaims frantically. Quickly, she forms the hand signs for a teleportation jutsu and disappears.

Fearlessly, Kakashi fends off enemy after enemy, protecting Rin as best as he can. He hears Rin's voice scream his name before being knocked backwards by an enemy kick. The final blow he expected never came, however. Through his blurry eyes, he sees a mass of purple. Hearing many grunts of pain, Kakashi attempts to reopen his eyes, but he finds himself drifting off. "Kakashi! Kakashi, are you okay?!" He hears a familiar, feminine voice ask him, her voice laced with worry.

A few nights later, in the same small clearing that the group had settled down in to begin with, Kakashi slowly opens his eyes. "Where am I?" he thinks to himself, groggily.  
"Hm, you're awake." Kakashi looks over at the masculine voice, realizing that the voice was coming from Minato-sensei. He notices Minato looking worriedly to his right. Before he has a chance to ask whose small body was slumbering next to his sensei, Kakashi hears Minato say, "At least one of you has woken up…"  
"Sensei?" Kakashi questions both in confusion as to how he came to be in the clearing and who had yet to wake up. "How?"  
"The jutsu formula in this kunai knife sets a mark, allowing me to quickly hop around with my transportation technique," sensei explains, holding up one of his special kunai knives.  
"And…the enemy?" Kakashi questions.  
"Yuuki dealt with most of them," sensei begins explaining. "I finished them off after she fainted." Kakashi looks over, slightly amazed, at Yuuki's sleeping form.  
"Rin!" Kakashi begins, startled, "what about Rin?"  
"She's fine. She told me everything while she was healing the worst of your's and Yuuki's wounds." Minato's voice lowers, "I'm sorry I couldn't make it in time."  
"Good, Kakashi's awake." Rin says as she walks over to the rock Minato, Kakashi, and Yuuki are currently residing on. "I wish Yuuki would hurry and wake up already…I'm starting to worry…"  
"She'll wake up soon…" Minato says quietly, sounding almost like he's trying to comfort himself, as well.  
"Yuuki…she heard the bells?" Minato nods at Kakashi. "But how did she fight? Her injuries were so extensive!"  
"She healed the most serious of her internal injuries," Rin begins, "I guess when she heard the bells, she thought saving you was more important." Rin lets that sink in for a moment before climbing down from the rock to get some much needed rest.  
Kakashi allows a few minutes of silence to pass by before he decides to break it. "Sensei…Obito…" Kakashi pauses, looking down at his lap and searching for the proper words. "He said that Yuuki…that she loved me…is that true?"  
"Of course it is!" Minato exclaims, making Kakashi jump a little. "Kakashi, do you really have to ask that after all she's done for you?"  
"Sensei, Yuuki will wake up soon," Kakashi says, determination burning in his eyes, "and then…then I'll confess my feelings for her, if you'll allow me to." Minato smiles at the young boy and nods, giving him approval to make his feelings for his daughter known.  
The next morning, Minato woke his students, sighing sadly when he was unable to wake up his daughter. The three conscious team members packed their supplies and, after Kakashi picks Yuuki up bridal style, they make their way back to Konoha. From start to finish, the trek was a five day journey, and Yuuki remained unconscious through the entirety of it.  
When the worn, tired group reaches the village, Minato takes Yuuki straight to the hospital. The doctors assure the worried father that his daughter will be just fine after she gets plenty of rest as she had overexerted herself during the mission. Despite hearing this news from Minato, Kakashi remains by Yuuki's side. Three days later, however, Kakashi is forced to leave her side as he is ordered to go on a B-rank mission.  
Ten days later, Kakashi returns from his mission and rushes to Yuuki's hospital room, only to find it empty. Frantically, Kakashi goes to Yuuki's home, only to be handed a notes a told by Minato that Yuuki had left two days prior to do some training with two well-known shinobi, Jiraiya and Tsunade.  
Kakashi returns home sullenly, finds his way to his room, and gingerly opens Yuuki's letter.

'Kakashi  
My father told me about how you stayed by my side while I was in the hospital. Thank you so much for worrying about me. I'm sure my father told you that I left to train with two of the great Sanin. I'll be spending exactly five years with them.  
Our mission…the death of Obito…they made me realize how useless I was. My training with Tsunade-sama will make me a better medic, so I can be sure that nobody, most importantly you, will ever be injured on my watch again. Not only that, but she'll help me with my courage and strength. And despite Jiraiya-sama's pervertedness, I think he'll be able to teach me a lot of new techniques.  
I hope that you'll still be waiting for me when I finally return to the village (yes, my father told me of your feelings). I promise that I'll be stronger when I return.  
Please don't die.  
With love,  
Yuuki'


	4. Chapter 4

For the next five years, Kakashi steadily makes his way from Jonin to Anbu to Anbu leader. He goes on countless missions, all of which with a very real possibility of killing him, but he clings to the silent promise he make Yuuki; the promise that he would not die.

In the five years she was gone, Yuuki Haburi gained a lot. She grew a few inches in height, filled out in the bust area, and gained a huge wealth of new knowledge from her two wise sensei. However, she unknowingly lost a lot while she was away. While she was away, Yuuki missed a very important event; the battle in which countless Konoha shinobi and citizens were massacred by Kyuubi, the nine-tailed fox demon; the battle where she lost her adoptive family. She thought fondly of the last time she had seen her loving parents, not knowing it had been the last time she ever would.

"Dad? Mom?" a younger Yuuki calls out as she walks into her home for the first time in a long while.  
"Sweetheart!" a mature, feminine voice squeals, pulling Yuuki into a smothering hug.  
"Mom…I can't…breathe…" Yuuki wheezes out to her fiery-haired mother. Quickly the woman releases her daughter, a blush covering her cheeks. "How's the baby?" Yuuki questions, gently rubbing her mother's plump stomach, thinking fondly of the baby brother or sister she will soon have. "Just one more reason why I have to get stronger," the thinks determinedly, briefly flashing back to how she felt when her best friend's energy level slowly faded away.  
"The doctors say I'm doing well, and that I should give birth any day," her mother replies jubilantly.  
"Boy or girl?" a masculine voice questions, lifting Yuuki's small frame up and over his shoulder.  
"Dad!" Yuuki squeals, seeing the flash of blonde hair. For the next few minutes the small family laughs and enjoys each other's company. Yuuki, knowing how heartbroken her mother will be and how worried her father will be, buys herself more and more time, dreading telling her loving parents the news.  
She is forced to, however, when a knock sounds at the door. Her father opens the door and reveals Jiraiya, who smiles at the blonde man. "Jiraiya! What brings you here tonight?"  
"Well," Jiraiya says, entering the small home, "I came to ask if Yuuki had received your blessing yet?"  
"Blessing?" Minato questions, looking at his wife and young daughter who had just entered the room.  
"What do you mean, Jiraiya?" Kushina asks, looking first at the white-haired pervert, and then down at her daughter. Jiraiya sends a look of knowing to the small girl.  
"I…I haven't asked yet…" Yuuki confesses, hanging her head.  
"Asked what, darling?" her father's voice questions kindly.  
"I…" Yuuki begins, fists clenching and tears threatening to fall from her purple eyes. "I want to get stronger," she admits, looking up at her father's and mother's faces. "Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama have agreed to take me away and train me," Yuuki pauses, allowing her words to sink in, "as long as I have your blessings…"  
"Take you away…?" Kushina repeats, tears forming in her violet eyes.  
"When are you leaving?" Minato questions his daughter seriously, wrapping a comforting arm around his love's shoulders.  
"Oh!" Yuuki starts, surprised her father had agreed so easily. "Tomorrow morning." Minato nods and turns to Jiraiya.  
"I have faith that you and Tsunade will keep my daughter out of harm's way, Jiraiya," he tells the man, the simple statement sounding almost like a threat.  
"M-minato?" Kushina tearfully questions her husband.  
"Kushina…I understand Yuuki's desire all too well…" Minato says, looking his beloved in the eyes. "She's just lost her best friend. Jiraiya and Tsunade will take good care of her. She will be safe," he assures her, staring into her violet eyes lovingly.  
"A-alright…" Kushina concedes, receiving a smile from her husband and a delighted squeal from her jubilant daughter.  
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Yuuki cries, enveloping her family in a hug. "I promise I'll be back in five years, and I'll be so strong that I'll never let anyone else get hurt, especially not my new baby brother or sister!" Her parents smile at their excited child before sending her off to pack and then get some sleep.  
Once they are sure Yuuki had gone to bed, Minato and Kushina sit down with Jiraiya, a serious tremor in the air. "Jiraiya…" Minato begins.  
"You swear you'll take good care of our baby girl?" Kushina finishes for him, looking seriously into Jiraiya's eyes.  
"Don't you worry, Kushina," Jiraiya assures her, "I think of you all as family. No harm will come to her." Kushina gives Jiraiya a tearful, thankful smile before excusing herself to bed. Minato and Jiraiya retire not long after, and the night passes blissfully.  
The morning comes quickly, almost oo quickly, and Yuuki gathers her things and says a tearful goodbye to her family.  
"I love you, Mom," Yuuki says, hugging the woman who had raised her for the better part of her life. "I promise I'll come home safe and sound." Kushina smiles down at her daughter, kisses her cheek and allows Minato to take her place.  
"Listen, sweetheart," Minato says quietly, gently lifting his little girl into his arms for the last time. "Be careful, please." Receiving a nod from Yuuki, he continues. "I can't wait to see how strong you are when you get home. Make sure you use all that strength to protect and teach your new brother or sister, okay?"  
"I will, I promise, Dad!" With their goodbyes finished, Yuuki kisses her parents for the last time and walks away with Jiraiya.

Walking through the village gates was a joyous occasion for the eighteen year old. After a long five years, she was finally home. She could not wait to see her father's overjoyed smile and to feel her mother's warm hug engulf her. She couldn't wait to meet her baby brother or sister, and to start teaching him or her everything she could.  
Yuuki and the two Sanin make their way to the Hokage's building quickly. Pausing to smile up at her father's face chiseled into the Hokage monument, Yuuki walks happily into the Hokage's office, expecting to see her father's smiling face. However, she was startled when she instead saw the Third Hokage's wrinkled face.  
"Lord Third!" Yuuki squeaks, slightly shocked. "What are you doing here?"  
"Oh! Yuuki Haburi? It has been quite a long time since you've been home, hasn't it child?" The old man says, smiling sadly down at the short girl's unsuspecting form.  
"Five years, to the day," Yuuki replies distractedly, looking around the room for any sign of her father. "Not to be rude, Lord Third, but where is my father?" The Third Hokage tells Yuuki the story of the Kyuubi attack, and of her parent's brave sacrifice. Tearfully, Yuuki takes in this new information, falling to her knees. "What…what about the baby…?  
"You father sealed half of the spirit of the Kyuubi inside the newborn body of your brother."  
"So…he's alive?" Yuuki begs hopefully, "I still have him…I still have family…" Yuuki smiles, tears streaking down her cheeks. "What's his name?"  
"Naruto Uzumaki."  
"Naruto…" Yuuki repeats, savoring the way her brother's name felt. "I want to meet him. Where is he?" Yuuki demands while standing and looking into the Third's eyes, her fire raging inside them. The Third nods and calls a young anbu into the room.  
"Please take Miss Haburi to see Naruto Uzumaki at Ms. Horinzuka's home. When you're finished, Yuuki, I'd like to have a discussion with you regarding your future." Both the anbu and Yuuki nod before the anbu leads Yuuki to a medium-sized, slightly worn-looking apartment building. "This is the orphanage where my brother has been living?" The anbu nods silently. Quietly, the two walk into the building. "Hello?" Yuuki calls out, receiving an answer from a small boy with blonde hair and striking blue orbs.  
"Hewwo," the small boy says, a large smile lighting his face up.  
"Oh, hello there!" Yuuki replies to the boy, smiling, before he runs off to play with a few other children.  
"Are you interested in Naruto?" a kindly old woman asks, walking out of the orphanage doors. Yuuki watches Naruto play for a little while, smiling sadly.  
"No…he's got it better here than what I can give him.." The old lady nods understandingly, walking back into the building. Yuuki watches her brother for a few more minutes before turning around and walking away.  
"Why didn't you take your brother home?" a deep, slightly familiar, voice questions, startling Yuuki a little.  
"He just looked so happy…And I can't raise a kid…Besides, the Hokage is probably going to make me an anbu soon." The anbu remains silent for the rest of the short walk back to the Hokage's office.  
"Lord Hokage." Yuuki calls respectfully, knocking twice on the door. After receiving a 'come in' from the other side, Yuuki and the anbu enter.  
"You're dismissed." Sandaime says to the anbu, receiving a nod. The anbu is gone in a flash, leaving Yuuki and the Third Hokage alone.  
"Lord Hokage," Yuuki begins, kneeling and bowing, "I'd like you to make me an anbu."  
"Oh!" Sandaime starts, surprised by the sudden, blunt statement. "What about your brother?"  
"I've decided that Ms. Horinzuka can care for him better than I at the time. I will give her money to help care for him and the other children living there. Also, I will check on him from time to time, but I am a shinobi, that is what the past five years have been spent training for, not taking care of a child," Yuuki says coldly.  
Sandaime frowns but nods, calling in an assistant, "Get Yuuki-san that mask." The assistant leaves and quickly returns with a black mask with one swirl of red cutting through the left eye. "This will be your mask, Yuuki. You will be a special ops anbu," Yuuki takes the mask graciously, placing it carefully on her face. "You will be known as Kuro. Nobody can ever learn your true identity." Yuuki nods seriously and solemnly. She quickly vanishes from the office in a silent 'poof'.  
Yuuki reappears near a large stone grave marker and takes her special anbu mask off, hiding it in her backpack. Gently, Yuuki touches two names engraved in the stone. "Obito…Rin…" Yuuki sighs sadly. Searching for a moment, she sighs again, slightly happier. "But, Kakashi's name isn't here…that means he's still alive," Yuuki smiles, a single tear rolling down her cheek.  
"Yuuki, I thought I'd find you here," a masculine voice, that Yuuki recognized as the anbu's from earlier, says. Turning, Yuuki is surprised to see a shock of gravity-defying silver hair.


	5. Chapter 5

"Ka..Kakashi!?" Yuuki squeaks startled.  
"Hey, Yuuki, long time no see," Kakashi replies, giving Yuuki a friendly smile. He grunts loudly as he is suddenly hit with the full force of Yuuki's ninety-five pound body as she glomps him in a hug.  
"You're the best thing that's happened to me all day!" Yuuki squeals with delight, squeezing Kakashi tighter.  
"I'm sure if you would have taken your brother home, you would feel differently," Kakashi whispers in her ear, returning her hug gently.  
"I thought the voice sounded familiar…why didn't you say anything earlier?" Yuuki questions, pulling away from Kakashi and facing the monument once again.  
"I thought you could use a little time," Kakashi reasons, stepping towards the small girl so that their shoulders were touching. "I figured you'd come here to see Rin and Obito before too long."  
"You know me all too well, Kashi-kun," Yuuki leans gently against Kakashi's strong body. "Do you wanna walk me back to my house?" Yuuki asks, peering up at the boy-turned-man who she had fallen in love with as a child. Kakashi smiles down at her and entwines his fingers with hers, nodding. The two begin walking to Yuuki's childhood home, but not before Kakashi notices a small dusting of pink across Yuuki's cheeks. As they walk, they share stories of their lives during the past five years.  
Walking down the familiar path, Yuuki's fingers tighten around Kakashi's with each step closer to her home. Too soon, the pair is standing in front of the small home that was once full of so much love and joy. "It's so…dark and…empty…" Yuuki quietly says, tears threatening to fall from her purple orbs. Kakashi pulls her into a tight hug, allowing Yuuki to release her anguish and sob silently into his chest.  
"Shh…everything will be okay, Yuuki," Kakashi soothes, trying to comfort the girl whom had stolen his heart years ago.  
"Kakashi…" Yuuki whispers, looking up at Kakashi's one-showing eye. "Live here with me." Kakashi's eye widens at the suddenness of the teary-eyed girl's command-like request. "I mean…" Yuuki blushes, still standing in Kakashi's arms, "We're both anbu, so we won't be around all that often, and this is a pretty big house…there's really no point in you paying rent for some dingy apartment that you hardly visit…" Kakashi stops Yuuki's rambling by pressing his clothed lips against hers, causing an even larger blush to paint Yuuki's normally pale cheeks.  
"That sounds perfect," Kakashi smiles down to the girl. "Shall we go inside?" Yuuki nervously nods, not entirely sure if she wanted to step inside the house that held such warm, bittersweet memories.  
Opening the front door, Yuuki is hit by the familiar sight of her kitchen. The only thing missing from the beige-walled room was the smell of something burning and her mother's embarrassed expression when the dish had to be saved by her young daughter.

"Ku..Mom?" A ten-year old Yuuki calls through a haze of smoke as she walks through the front door.  
"Oh! Hello, darling! Back from the academy so soon?" Kushina says to her daughter, embarrassment written clearly on her face, as she tries to save the cookies she had burnt to a crisp.  
"Yeah…we got done with lessons early," the young girl tells the woman who had taken her in. "What happened?"  
"Oh…I was just trying to make some cookies for you and your father…" Kushina rubs the back of her head nervously. Laughing at her mother's situation, Yuuki quickly takes over and makes a fresh batch of cookies.  
"I think you need to stick with cooking meals…Baking isn't really your strong suit, is it?" The two share a laugh before cleaning up the mess. Before long, Minato, Yuuki's adoptive father, comes home and shares another laugh at his lover's expense.

Walking further in, Yuuki is struck by the sight of her living room, white couches still intact. She allows nostalgia to take over yet again.

"Are you sure about this, Minato?" a younger Kushina asks her new husband. "I know we talked about having children, but…"  
"She needs someone, Kushina. You know what Akeme Haburi was like…she needs someone like you to lover her," Minato tells his fiery-haired wife. Receiving an unsure nod, the couple walks into the living room of their new home. "Yuuki," Minato addresses the stone-faced seven year-old girl sitting on the white loveseat.  
"Yes, Minato-sempai," comes the monotone response from the young girl.  
"No need to be so formal, dear," Kushina says, sitting beside the girl on the loveseat and giving her a warm smile. Yuuki looks at the woman blankly, unsure how to respond.  
"But father-sama said I must always address my superiors respectfully," she recites.  
"From now on, I'm simply Minato, Yuuki. Or, if you'd prefer, you can call me Dad," Minato smiles at the small, bruised girl. Yuuki stiffens as she feels Minato's hand gently pat her on the head. She tenses even more when she feels Kushina's arms wrap around her and pull her into a tight, warm hug.  
"And I'm Mom," she whispers to the girl lovingly. Kushina pulls out of the hug and looks Yuuki in the eyes. "From now on, we're going to take care of you and make sure nobody hurts you, okay, Yuuki?" Tears well up in the small girl's eyes, causing tears to fall unceremoniously from Kushina's eyes, and Yuuki buries her head in the loving woman's lap. Minato smiles and kneels down to hold his new daughter with his wife.

A tear falls from Yuuki's eye as she brings herself back to reality. Her and Kakashi continue through the house, stepping into Yuuki's old bedroom, the guest room, and what would have been Naruto's room. The only room Yuuki cannot bring herself to open is her parent's bedroom.  
"Why don't we go back to my dingy apartment for the night?" Kakashi whispers suddenly, scaring Yuuki a little. "It's a little dirty here, we can clean up in the morning and do some moving." Yuuki nods at the boy and the two leave the house, locking the door behind them. They enjoy a silent walk to Kakashi's small apartment, fingers entwined. Yuuki allows herself to drift into another memory.

Quietly, a five year-old girl with short purple hair sneaks into the kitchen of a small dojo-like home. Stealthily grabbing a slice of bread and cheese, she sneaks back to her small, scarcely furnished bedroom. She quickly scarfs down the minuscule amount of food, enjoying having something in her stomach for the first time in three days. She then curls up on her ragged, second-hand futon and tries to get some sleep.  
"Wake up." Yuuki is jolted from her dreamless sleep by the cold voice of her father and the agony of having her body yanked up by her purple hair. Kneeling at the man's feet, Yuuki does not make a sound. "You stole from the fridge," he states callously, glaring down the thin girl's shaking body.  
"I.." Yuuki begins before she is roughly kicked in the ribs by the man with shoulder-length black hair and cold, calculating black eyes.  
"No food for another week."  
"Yes, Father-sama," the bruised girl says, bowing to her father.  
"Time to train. You better not disappoint me again." With that, Akeme Haburi walks away from the girl towards the dojo's training room.  
Quickly, Yuuki dresses in her ragged training kimono, silently cursing herself for being so weak. She sneaks a glance outside her window to check the sun's position. "The sun's not even up yet…" Not wanting to upset her short-tempered father, she quickly bustles to the training room.  
For the next four hours, Akeme relentlessly throws and barrage of kicks and punches at his daughter. She manages to avoid all of the attacks. After a fifteen minute break, the training continues. Akeme throws some advanced jutsu at the girl, giving her a variety of fresh cuts and bruises. The training continues until about four o'clock. The cold man assess his daughter's injuries and, deciding that she had not been punished enough for his wife's death, knocks her to the ground without warning. For the next thirty minutes, he uses to small girl as a punching bag before going back to his room to suck on a few bottles of sake. After laying in her own blood for a few minutes, Yuuki decides it is safe and quickly bathes and bandages her wounds.

"It's funny," Yuuki says as she comes back to reality. The two had finally made it back to Kakash's apartment.  
"Huh?" he questions, unlocking his door and allowing the girl to enter.  
"Well, before Minato and Kushina took me in…back when I still lived with my real father…things were so different. I would have been beaten for all of the tears I shed today…but thanks to Mom and Dad…I learned that it was okay to not be robotic and perfect all the time…And thanks to that, I met Obito, Rin, and you, Kakashi."  
"I'm glad things turned out the way they did, Yuuki."  
"So am I, Kakashi." Yuuki smiles up at the boy who held her heart. After an argument, Kakashi makes Yuuki take his bed while he sleeps on the couch. Yuuki climbs into Kakashi's bed, enjoying the feeling of safeness she got from his warm scent. "Kakashi?" Yuuki calls, being rewards by Kakashi's shirtless, maskless form in the doorway. "I feel bad having you sleeping on the couch in your own house…" Yuuki blushes slightly, "we can sh-share the bed." Kakashi smiles and crawls into bed next to the innocent girl. He pulls Yuuki into his arms, kissing the top of her head, and they fall asleep.


End file.
